Cisco IP Phone 7940 Easy Rear Stand Fix

I recently bought yet another Cisco IP Phone from 7940 from eBay. Usually, I don’t buy used electronics from eBay because I want to check and test any device before I buy it. I know once you commit buying on eBay you can’t back out like any other online shops but I got a good deal for it. And all you need from an IP phone is for it to boot up and work, the outside blemishes wouldn’t really matter. (For some but I hate scratches) I like buying from Craigslist. Simple, you can check it out before you buy it.

When I received my Cisco phones, one of the rear stands weren’t holding when you pull it down. Normally, it will lock in place but this you have to play with it til the lock goes in a certain position. This happens when someone does not know how to unlock the stand and forces it up or down. At that point, I really did not know the mechanics inside it and once I noticed that, I obsessed about it and the only thing I could think about was, “is it repairable?” I like repairing things and the feeling I get after I succeed! Again, it was time for me to research and learn. Google is my main resource nowadays. It is sad but it helps me learn.

I found exactly what I was looking for.

I just followed the video and it worked! It is not exactly a repair because we did not replace any parts but it works really well. It’s like it never happened.

I wanted to do a step by step tutorial on this and share it because I didn’t find any on the Internet other than the video or maybe I didn’t bother to look after I saw the video and just jumped in on the job.

Things you will need:

Any strong tape. (I used duct tape)

Philips screwdriver

Flathead screwdriver (optional)

The phone that I used was a 7940. I believe this would also work on 7960s. I am not positive. Maybe I can open my other phone next time to see it and update this post.

Remove the four screws. We are going to have to open it to

You can remove the stand if it will make it easier for you to access the screws. I did not remove the stand when I did the fix. If you choose to remove it, you can just get a flathead screwdriver and push the tabs on the bottom, inwards to release them.

After all four screws are off, the hardest part for me is pulling it apart. Main reason why is because I don’t want to break any tabs. I have broken enough tabs in my life that I want to be careful. 🙂

The trick that I found is to start from the bottom. You can start pulling it apart from there and when you see an opening, work your way there til the middle part. Now don’t go pulling it apart the whole way because there are tabs on top which will break if you do. You have to slide the back of the phone down to open it fully.

Once you have opened it, here is what it will look like on the back.

The clip in the middle, marked with a yellow arrow, is broken. Do you see that empty rectangular spot marked with a blue arrow? There is supposed to be a tab there that is supposedly being pushed by the piece behind it and that’s how it locks and holds it in place.

We will need to remove the clip. You have to be careful on doing this step because if either slot breaks, it might be impossible to repair that. There are two slots on each side marked with red arrows, you will have to carefully push back one slot. and when you have enough room to take out the clip, you can pull it out.

We are going to use the tape to basically imitate the tab that was broken so the piece behind can push and hold the lock in place.

It should look like this or similar. I want you to pay attention to the tape and the red line. Do not exceed the red line or it might be harder to unlock the stand because of too much resistance on the tape.

After that, just put the clip back into place. Again, just be careful on the slots.

Mine looks kind of ghetto but oh well. No one will see the inside when I’m using the phone and it does the job!

Before you put the phone back together, test it out. Unlock and lock the rear stand, it should work now.

Put the phone back together. Sliding the top first so tabs can go in and pushing it together to lock in place. Put the screws back in.

And there you go! You now have fixed your rear stand for your Cisco IP Phone 7940 and saved you at least $6.00 plus shipping. That’s still something! Enjoy!

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